posted 03-05-2010 03:41 AM                   

quote: Paul Mayer

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As for your relative, he probably (hopefully) staged those shots in a simulator or at least in a parked aircraft.

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I wish .... Real 737, real left-side seat, while really flying on a real commercial flight full of passengers ... of course, just sitting there for the picture while the copilot kept a close eye and inmediately switched back. In case you wonder: no, the airline doesn't allow that ...

Not that he does it often or whatnot, and I don't really think it's dangerous, but still, it's safer if it is not done at all and there is no need for it.

And I agree about newscasting going downhill everywhere lately. It's amazing how people that know nothing-about-nothing, be it air traffic control or digital cinema, talk any crap they can come out with to sell a paper/magazine or two.

BTW, I happen to have another relative-in-law this time that is an ATC. The stories he tells me ...

posted 03-26-2010 12:31 PM                    

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Higher Prices Make Box-Office Debut
by Lauren A.E. Schuker and Ethan Smith
Thursday, March 25, 2010

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Tickets get costlier as movie chains seek to cash in on consumers' willingness to pay more for 3-D

Major U.S. movie-theater chains, seeking to accelerate the surge in revenues fueled by such 3-D hits as "Avatar" and "Alice in Wonderland," are imposing some of the steepest increases in ticket prices in at least a decade.

The new prices take effect Friday in many markets across the country in theaters owned by such major exhibitors as Regal Entertainment Group, Cinemark Holdings Inc. and AMC Entertainment Inc.

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The increases, in one case as much as 26%, vary from theater to theater, but many cinemas are raising prices most—or even solely—for 3-D showings, which accounted for the vast majority of last year's 10% jump in domestic box-office sales. 3-D movies generated 11% of domestic ticket sales in 2009, up from just 2% in 2008.

At an AMC theater in Danvers, Mass., a Boston suburb, 3-D ticket prices are jumping more than 20% to $17.50 from $14.50, while the adult admission price for a conventional film will remain at $10.50. At one Seattle multiplex, adult admission is rising to $11 from $10 for a conventional film, to $15 from $13.50 for a regular 3-D showing and to $17 from $15 for Imax 3-D.

A 3-D Imax movie at New York City's AMC Loews Kips Bay will cost $19.50, up from $16.50.

The increases weren't announced by the theater operators, but were reflected in prices posted Wednesday on movie-ticketing Web sites, such as Fandango.com.

AMC and Cinemark declined to comment. Comment from Regal wasn't immediately available.

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The industry's move comes on the heels of a record-setting year at the domestic box office, with revenue surpassing $10 billion for the first time. Movie attendance in the U.S. and Canada grew 5.5% in 2009, with 1.42 billion tickets sold, the most since 2004. Ticket sales so far this year are running 10% higher.

Movie theaters typically charged $2 to $3 extra for 3-D movies. But the brisk demand for the premium-priced tickets led many exhibitors to conclude they were still underpriced. About 83% of the record $2.6 billion in ticket sales for "Avatar" came from 3-D and Imax screens. And Walt Disney Co.'s "Alice in Wonderland" also set records when it hit 3-D screens earlier this month.

While the new prices could boost theater owners' already buoyant revenues, some industry watchers think they could also spark a consumer backlash. Studios, theater operators, and trade groups have long touted films as a bargain, compared with other forms of entertainment. A decade ago, the average ticket at a multiplex was $5.39, but prices have edged up between 2.7% and 6.1% a year since then, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

"The U.S. economy isn't in the greatest shape, and there is definitely risk here in pushing price too far in a weak economy," said Richard Greenfield, a media analyst at BTIG LLC, who issued a research report Wednesday on the price hikes.

Mr. Greenfield said the next month will serve as a test of the strategy. "We'll have a sense if there is any pushback" from moviegoers, he said.

Some movie-studio executives expressed concern that the price increases might be too much too soon. "The risk we run is that we will no longer be the value proposition that we as an industry have prided ourselves on," said a distribution executive at one major studio.

Other studio executives agreed that the move was risky, but some, like Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., expressed support. "The exhibitors are trying to push the needle on ticket prices and see where it ends up," Mr. Fellman said. "So far charging a $3 or $4 premium has had no effect on consumers whatsoever, so I'm in favor of this experiment to raise prices even more. There may be additional revenue to earn here."

Studios are also in a bind. While many are wary of appearing to gouge consumers, they are also facing higher costs as they produce more movies in the technology-heavy 3-D format. Though ticket prices are set by theater operators, the proceeds are split roughly 50-50 with movie studios.

Five major 3-D films are opening in theaters over the next three months, starting this weekend with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "How to Train Your Dragon." That rich selection is one reason theater owners chose to raise 3-D ticket prices now. It may also help set consumers' expectations for future 3- films.

Imax 3-D tickets to "Dragon" are expected to cost an average $1, or 7%, more than Imax tickets to Disney's "A Christmas Carol," the last children's film to open in the format, just a few months ago.

In his report, Mr. Greenfield said one of the biggest price increases was at an AMC theater in Boston, where a child's 3-D Imax ticket will cost $14.50, up from $11.50. In the 10 markets he surveyed, adult tickets to conventional 2-D films were set to rise by an average of 4%, beginning this weekend.

Price increases on 3-D movies are at least twice as steep, he said, with average adult admission prices rising 8% for 3-D movies and nearly 10% for movies on Imax screens.

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posted 03-27-2010 08:02 PM                   

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It should have been a red carpet event. When just one British cinema was given exclusive permission to launch Uma Thurman's new film earlier this month, the film's producers presumably hoped that exclusivity would create a buzz around the movie. Though limiting the release would obviously limit takings, they must have hoped word of mouth could make it a slow-burning success.

But the tactic backfired catastrophically. Instead of audiences queueing round the block of the Apollo West End in Piccadilly Circus, London, to see the star of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, they stayed away in record-breaking numbers.

Over its opening weekend, no more than a dozen people went to see Motherhood, a semi-autobiographical account of stressed-out Manhattan parenting written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann. The film made just £88 on the weekend of Friday 5 March. On its debut Sunday, box office takings were £9, meaning one person bought a ticket.

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posted 09-13-2010 10:41 PM                       

quote:

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School Suspends Boy for Bloodshot Eyes

TROPHY CLUB, Texas - Administrators at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club suspended a 16-year-old boy on Tuesday because his eyes were bloodshot and they thought he might have been smoking marijuana.

The teen said he was not high. Instead his eyes were red because he had been grieving the loss of his murdered father.

Kyler Robertson’s father was stabbed to death on Sunday. His mother honored his wishes and let him go to school on Tuesday to be with his friends.

“I am sure he had a lot on his mind going to school. I had asked him not to go to school,” said Cristy Fritz.

Before returning to class Kyler had to go to the office to get a tardy slip. That’s when school employees accused him of being high because he had red and watery eyes.

Fritz said she got a call from administrators who told her Kyler would be suspended for three days.

“I was pleading with her to understand the severity of the situation, his emotional well being. How could they do this to him at this time? What are the alternatives?” she said.

District spokeswoman Lesley Weaver would not discuss the case with FOX 4, but said when administrators suspect a student is under the influence, a school nurse will observe symptoms like their behavior, odor and their eyes.

The district does not actually test students, though. That’s left to the parents.

Fritz said she was told by the assistant principal that she could have Kyler tested for drugs within two hours and if it was negative he could return to school. She did just that.

Kyler was allowed to return to class after he showed school administrators a copy of his negative test results.

The teen’s mom still wants an apology from administrators and she wants the district to remove the suspension from his permanent record. She is in the process of appealing it.

“We had other things to do this week than worry about a three day window for an appeal, a two hour window for a drug test and my son’s reputation and high school career,” she said.

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posted 09-22-2010 12:26 AM                    

Worm eats Cedar Rapids man’s retina

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John Matthews loves to hunt turkeys and travel to foreign places like Mexico. During one of those adventures, something crawled inside his body.

“It’s so small, you couldn’t even see it, feel it,” Matthews said.

When two dark spots appeared in his vision and his eyesight became a little hazy, he headed to the doctor.

“It was kind of like looking through a muddy lens,” he said.

Doctors struggled to diagnose what was wrong with John’s left eye. Then, Dr. James Folk at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics found the problem.

“Just by luck, the first picture we looked at, we saw the worm, right in the middle of the retina,” Folk said.

A microscopic worm was swimming around inside John’s eye.

“It actually lives underneath the retina of the eye and crawls around and eats the retina,” Folk said. “The worm goes into the gut, digests in the gut, and actually doesn’t crawl through the blood vessels, but crawls through the tissue all the way to the eyes and the brain.”

There are only about fifteen known cases like this in the world.

Matthews still remembers that day back in January when he got the news. He said, “I was never freaked out by it when they said, ‘You’ve got a worm in your eye.’ I was like, ‘Get it out. What do we do now?’”

Soon after making the diagnosis, Dr. Folk armed himself with a laser and put the worm in the cross-hairs.

John was awake the whole time and said he was thinking, “Hurry up and kill the thing. Good luck shootin’, doc…I saw something wiggling and I asked if the worm was wiggling. The doc said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I can see it.’”

Dr. Folk said, “When you hit it with the laser, it got very upset. As upset as a worm can get, I suppose…The thing was just thrashing around violently. It would be like one of those titan movies or something.”

The worm is dead. It will decompose over time. Now, John must do computer exercises to strengthen his eye. His vision has improved, but may never return to normal.

“His sharp-shooting days are over,” Folk said.

For the rest of his life, John will be on a different kind of hunting expedition to see if any doctor can restore his eyesight.

Dr. DeAnn Fitzgerald has worked with John throughout this entire process and continues to see him about twice a month.

Although this condition is rare, Dr. Folk says, in one day, an adult raccoon can shed 60 million eggs that contain these kinds of worms. Folk says Matthews could have somehow ingested raccoon dander. However, John will probably never know exactly how or when the worm got inside him.

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